Black Widow is set to be released on November 14th, 2014.Genre: Metalcore

Take Lady Gaga, Slipknot, and a watered down Metalcore sub genre, mix it all up and what do you get? In This Moment‘s video for Sick. Atlantic Records’ new Pop Metal signee’s made their major label debut with this single from their latest offering Black Widow and boy was this slightly unexpected. The video is littered with all theming you would not come to expect in a metal music video such as scantily clad women and choreographed dancing. Did we mention that the band members look like they tried out for Slipknot recently?

Old In This Moment vs. New In This Moment

Yes, gone are the brooding angsty Metalcore brats that looked too emo to be true. In their stead is a sleek shiny new Pop Metal monster that could seemingly be fronted by Lady Gaga herself. To their credit, the songs are as catchy as they’ve ever been, and the lyrics are still pretty much simple, the only thing that seemed to have changed is the appearance. Given their immense popularity one can only think that given the opportunity, any previously raw and gritty metal outfit would tidy it up once a major label steps in. Could this be a new thing for emerging “Pop Metal” artists to aspire too? If so, gods help us all.

It has been 3 years since Opeth’s departure from the death metal landscape broke the hearts of thousands of fans, but the preeminent prog professionals are back with their 11th ‘observation’, Pale Communion. The band’s 2011 effort Heritage signaled a “new” direction in the band’s musical focus and send shockwaves throughout their seemingly loyal fan base. Pale Communion is in no way their mea culpa; rather it is an expansion on the sound that has arguably been at the base of every Opeth album since the days of Orchid albeit masked by death metal chaos.

Almost by design, the band introduces newcomer Joakim Svalberg (keyboardist) accompanied by drummer Martin Axenrot in the groove-drenched intro of album opener ‘Eternal Rains Will Come’. This band knows how to create a rollercoaster of dynamics throughout the course of a song and, in large, an album. Eternal Rains, as does the album itself, possesses a short but effective build-drop-lull-build-sustain-evolved-drop formula that has been an integral part of tracks since Watershed. Most tracks on this album follow suite with the exception of the track number two, ‘Cusp of Eternity’. A foot stomping riff immediately establishes a groove and holds serve as Mikael Akerfeldt croons effortlessly above the rhythm guitars.

The album is a sonic treat for the ears. Mix engineer and Porcupine Tree main-man Steven Wilson has refined and improved on his aural vision from Heritage. The drums across the album bite and punch through the mix with pristine quality but retain a level of intimacy that helps bolster space creating effects such as reverb and delay. Wilson’s flashy use of those effects introduce an insane amount of dimension to the listening experience that came up flatter in this album’s predecessor. The heart of the album, led by the 10-minute mammoth ‘Moon Above, Sun Below’, bounces from quite and serene to spacious but melodically dense and culminates in an infectious band-jam instrumental, ‘Goblin’.

Before turn of the corner to the homestretch of the album, ‘River’ seemingly provides the furthest departure from the trademark Opeth song to date. Up until the halfway point, the song is by far the least complex of the bunch and seems to be tailor made for that “lighter in the air” moment at the venue. It is only at around the 4-minute mark that Opeth’s ear twisting returns and reminds listeners of just how talented this group is. The refrain of Voice of Treason boasts one of the best vocal performances only to be outdone by the tracks climax and close which leads directly to album closer Faith In Others.

From start to finish the album is a testament front man Mikael Akerfeldt’s growth and maturation as a songwriter as well as a straightforward hat tip to his influences. Beyond the singular contributions from Akerfeldt, Opeth as a whole steps their game up. Bassist Martin Mendez is active throughout the album while simultaneously remaining glued to the pocket created and maintained by the spot on drum patterns of Martin Axenrot. Every track clocks in at 8 minutes or less with the exception of one or two, making each of them a manageable listening experience lengthwise. One of the very few minuses of this album are some of the busy vocal lines and crowded rhythms in Akerfeldts vocal cadence from time to time, but that’s just nit picking at this point isn’t it?

It is the dawn of a new era for Arch Enemy. The Melodeath vets are back with War Eternal, and introduce their third vocalist Alissa White-Gluz (ex-The Agonist) with it. This album is the ninth installment in the bands career all of which featuring a non-singing female lead vocalist. Alissa brings with her crisp growled vocals and an impressive 3 to 5 octave singing range, but only one of those makes an appearance.

‘War Eternal’ was released June 4th, 2014 via Century MediaGenre: Melodic Death Metal

Rather than dive right into the brutality, the album opens with the orchestral number Tempore Nihil Sanat. The track is short but serves as a “calm before the battle of the black water” moment. The mood is ominously serene and peacefully saunters up to an abrupt halt at the end of it’s one minute and twelve second stay. It is after this that the album actually kicks in much to every metal heads delight.

As if on cue the monstrous blast beats and Iron Maiden-esque harmonized guitars destroys the any serenity established with Never Forgive, Never Forget. From there on, and for much of the album, it is the quintessential metal-core/Melodeath brutality you’d expect from a Gluz fronted outfit. Few songs on this album present a chance for Gluz to actually to show the true duality her arrival had the potential to bring to Arch Enemy. When the chance presents itself, however, it is dutifully ignored. Case in point is the flying chorus of No More Regrets where one could easy imagine a powerful and soaring vocal line sung above the harmonized arpeggios.

The halfway point of the album strips it down to an instrumental in Graveyard of Dreams. This track is another strikingly beautiful instrumental that seems to have ended up as a stand alone track as opposed to appearing as a mere introduction. In fact it seems as if the only thing that prevents such a thing from happening is the lack of drums. If drummer Daniel Eriandsson had found himself on Graveyard, it could have easily been to the sub-three minute Stolen Life what the opening of You Will Know My Name was to that track.

Time is Black comes in with a catchy power riff following a dainty stripped down intro. From then on, it is business as usual until the album closer (in the Standard version of the album) Not Long For This World. This track is the third instrumental in the album and is the heaviest by far. Aside from a random sample of slowing heartbeats and a heart monitor that never flatlined, the track is a powerful close to a rather peculiar album.

Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz (ex-The Agonist) was announced as Arch Enemy’s new lead singer in March of 2014. She replaced the band’s former vocalist Angela Gossow who is now the band’s business manager.

Unfortunately the standard edition of the album features absolutely no cleanly sung vocals, much to the delight of death metal purists everywhere. This is a huge let down considering the melodic prescience Michael Amott (guitarist) worked into the album, and the vocal abilities their new lead singer possesses. The album itself, for all it’s wonderful orchestration, lacks a clear and consistent movement from start to finish. As opposed to flowing together effortlessly, riffs can tend to feel like they’re pandering to the obligatory metal brutality that must be present at all times…or else.

While the record doesn’t break any new ground, it is still a solid offering. Long time fans will undoubtedly be split on Alissa White-Gluz’s performance, but she holds her own as she has done for a while as the former front woman of The Agonist. Given the strong use of orchestration and the touches of neo-classical chord progressions, fans of Symphony X and Masterplan may have something to latch onto here. In any case those who enjoy modern Melodic Death Metal and/or the ever hated Metalcore will have enough to enjoy in War Eternal.

We all know that Metal is the greatest genre of music ever to bless ears the world over. For the sake of argument (and this article) however, let’s cast that completely unbiased statement aside.

Metal alone has countless sub-genres.

A genre’s origin usually is as touchy a subject as it is complex. Some genres simply took after the names of popular acts (ie: the lore behind the Death metal genre and the band Death), while others are smashups of established genres like Metal-core, the bastard child of Hardcore Punk and Heavy Metal who used Melodic Death Metal as a midwife. No matter the origin, a fight over whether they’re necessary or not is always bound to start a few international conflicts…no? Ok, fine they’ll certainly start a few arguments right?

One the many struggles both emerging and established artists face is defining “their sound”. In a world where making music -of quality or not- is becoming easier and easier by the megabyte, having a flavor unique to one’s own vision could prove to be a precious commodity. The conflict doesn’t revolve around people who acknowledge that fact however, it’s the opponents of genre labeling who whip themselves intoi a frenzy over categorizing music. It is because of these “creative purists” that the need for labeling music and lumping it into genres is questioned.

To their credit, there does not seem to be much of a consensus in regards to what is or isn’t a genre today. A study performed by the authors of Representing Musical Genre: A Study of the Art showed that among 3 internet “genre taxonomies” (allmusic.com, amazon.com, and mp3.com) only 70 words were found common between them despite having 1,680 genres in total across the three sites. What one person calls something, another person could call it something else and have just as good an argument for how they see it…how confusing.

Nevertheless, there are practical reasons behind genres. The study of music (…or “musicology” as snobby elitist scholars like to call it) is just one of the many reasons genre labeling is important. While musicology is used as an umbrella term encompassing studies related to music, there is no doubt that genres often played an important role in those studies…and did I mention musicology has been around for centuries? Academic observations of music has provided us with tremendous insight into times before we were born. Now where would we be without music, the study of music, and the analysis of various genres?

Click to view a nifty interactive “genre by state” map!

While genre labeling has gotten a bit out of hand recently (I’m looking at you Nightcore and Djent), it is important that academics and students of various forms of music are able to do the education, Kanye, and immortalize the multiple varieties of music throughout history by noting genres and their qualities. Much of the vitriol thrown at the subject is a result of self imposed creative restrictions. Instead of keeping a focus on performing the activity that gives them the creative freedom in the first place, artist become swallowed up by critique and think a bit to much about the art…and that should be left to us critics! Simply put, it’s an integral part of music history no matter how much it’s hated, so just learn to appreciate it.

Surprise, a list! Who doesn’t love to list things they love and present them to the public? I’m sure the good people on Facebook land and beyond have seen the “10 Best Stuffs to Stuff” list, the “Top 5 Best Stuffs” and so on. So allow me introduce you to my pretentious little exhibition. Below are 4 albums I enjoy listening to from jump to splat. Yes you read that right, only 4…because fuck lists in which the total number of items are divisible by 5 and/or 10. Also, don’t try to look for a pattern here. This list is in no particular order, and has very little rhyme or reason attached to it.

First off is After by Ihsahn. If you’re a Black Metal enthusiast, you know this name and the gr1m fr0stbitten cache of epicness that accompanies it and you can skip the next sentence. Ihsahn, as the front man for Black Metal band Emperor, helped pioneer the genre and shape it throughout its satanic birth and infancy. This album was the thematic end to a conceptual trilogy that began with ‘Adversary’ and ‘angL’. After is big sonically, and what I mean by that is that there is a lot of space that you can just feel at times. Sure, Jens Bogren (Mix/Mastering Engineer) added weight where previous album ‘angl’ lacked it, but combined with Ihsahn’s superb riffing and “guitar orchestration”, combined with his knack for always writing the quintessential ‘complete song’, no track on this album is a skipper. As far as I’m concerned it can go down as one as the best metal albums of all time, and can easily top multiple albums across a multitude of extreme metal sub-genres.

Enya’s ‘A Day Without Rain’ was released November 21st, 2000 via Reprise.Genre: New Age

Next up is A Day Without Rain by Enya. No, let me stop you here, Sail Away, Sail Away is not on this album, and it isn’t even the actual name of the song. This album is magnificent as that song was. If you are not into New Age music, you may not know what I’m babbling on about…pfft, there aren’t even any guitars on this record, or breakdowns for that matter. Good point, believe me, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Enya had put together an almost flawless body of work again. In the United States along ADWR went 7x platinum, that’s 7,000,000 copies! It helps that ‘Only Time’ was played repeatedly in the wake of the September 11th attacks. Enya effortlessly navigates chord progressions that were arranged seemingly with a patented technique that dates back to the 1980’s. Enya’s works have garnered international praise and accolades, to which I say…no shit.

Replace the stringed instruments with guitars, 80% of the singing with guttural death growls, make the lyrical themes darker and you get Daylight Dies’ 2006 effort ‘Dismantling Devotion. No, I did not mean Killswitch Engage, I mean the North Carolina Doom Metal group Daylight Dies. From top to bottom, there is enough meat here to feed every starving organism on the planet. Hyperbole aside, for a sophomore effort DD took no prisoners with these songs. There is emotion, intensity, and aggression within each song. The melodic content from song to song is rich and ripe with purpose behind the brutal death metal vocals of front man Nathan Ellis. I first ran into this band listening to a My Dying Bride station on Last FM. This band’s strength lays in their composition. Once you get past the slower pace inherent in the Doom Metal genre, you will be able to appreciate this record.

Doomtree independently released this self titled album July 29th, 2008Genre: Hip Hop

Last, but surely not least, Doomtree’s self titled effort from 2008, Doomtree. I know what you were thinking, but this is not a metal band…sorry. Doomtree is a hip-hop group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before you go and dismiss these guys, give this album a listen…and I mean really listen. From top to bottom this album, features thought provoking, and introspective lyrics that come across as genuine as all hell. The instrumentals are raw, and gritty but create a 90’s feel that suites Doomtree’s aura. The rappers that make up this group pride themselves on their individuality, and this group of songs captures that thought process completely.

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Sorry for the delay! I had promised this a couple weeks back but due to illness and adding a second job I haven’t had enough time for my true love, MUSIC!!

Spiritual Rez is back to bring us some more of their own brand of progressive reggae-rock. Their last two studio albums, Vex and Rising in the East, were works of art in their own right. They pulled influences across time and genre that really made them stand out in the expanding american dub and reggae community.

After some drastic lineup changes they’ve come back with Apocalypse Whenever which is arguably more diverse than the first two releases but something is seems to be lacking in the originality sector.

“We wanted to create an album that flows as one piece of art sonically and conceptually. Apocalypse Whenever is an album for the times. We want to encourage the people not to fear the future but to embrace it”Toft Willingham

While this concept of “embracing” the future can be argued for with a few tracks that preach acceptance and optimism; like their powerful anthem “Don’t be afraid”. If you listen to the album more than a couple times you can hear themes that completely undermine their concepts. The political undertones alone shed light on paranoia.

So conceptually the album isn’t quite what he claims. Musicically… I’m not sure what the attempt was here. They used to mash every genre of Reggae and Dub into one smooth candy bar package.

Spiritual chocolate Rez bars… Get on that.

Now instead of their soft dubby center with the salted rock crunchies they seem to have gone for a more consistent sound. The ska and punk mix is a good one but not something we haven’t seen before. Nobody wants to hear another pseudo-sublime album. There are too many bands trying to do that. Hell, even SUBLIME is trying to be Sublime.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some great tunes on this record. Just not their usual caliber.

They went for more of a punk/ska feel for most things and the reggae is more inspired by 311 than the Wailers. There are even tunes like “Worker Bee” which is straight political-punk. I commend their diversity and expression but this song in particular just doesn’t fit in with the rest of the album.

The album itself is filled with political and social references and promotes some libertarian values.

“Until our savior comes,
Man’s got his hands to rely on…

Somebody’s got to build your homes
Somebody’s got to grow your food
While the men, making up the rules
Sitting in offices planning our apocalypse”

Luckily, I don’t see these guys attending any Tea Parties any time soon. Maybe just lighting joints and shooting some guns off. Y’know. Good ol’ American things.

These tracks sound more like sing-a-longs with easy to remember and representative lyrics with uninspired melodies. They’re catchy but theres not much else substantial along the lines of creativity.

An unfortunate aspect and contributing to the downfall of this album is that Willingham’s voice has really gone downhill. I loved his grinding vocal cords and smooth delivery but on this album he sounds like he attempted to gargle some gravel.

You too can have the voice of an angel!

Possibly taking advantage of the release date right after Valentine’s day this year Willingham makes references to his wife on two of the songs. In “Don’t be Afraid” they address being on the road and wondering when they will see each other again.

The second tune revolving around Mrs. Rez is “Agapoula Mou”, their hit single.

“Decisions” is a song I’m really split on. Musically it’s one of my favorites on the album.

The progression keeps you listening and they bounce genre’s a couple times but it really solidifies the song.

My issue with it is the content. It’s an attempted attack on the rave/”molly” (mdma) culture. They were so close to coming off as poignant but only showed their musical blinders. I am in no way defending the rave and dubstep scenes, but their approach was sub-par. It had real promise by shining light on sexual and drug abuse but fell short on delivery. Maybe a better fit for another song, or another band!

Melodically I have to hand it to them, they have some great ones on this. Definitely some daily hummers. The instrumental tracks really shine on here, just showing they’ve still got chops. “March of the Reptoids” and “The Rapture” are fantastic songs that span jazz, rock, dub, and even some Cajun jam…. That sounds good. Note to self. Eat before writing reviews…

But alas… no real winners that make me want to put this album on in the future. It was a great listen through for the times I needed to write this review. I wanted to love it but it’s missing that wow factor from their earlier releases.

Despite my less-than rave review that album has received tons of acclaim. It’s a decent reggae rock album. Was it wrong of us to expect more?

Their live shows had revealed they were in a slight downward slope; especially with the recent line-up shake down. The expectations of another Nexus was maybe a bit too optimistic that they could redeem themselves. I’d expect this for a first album, but if was indeed their first I’d pass on their sequel without much second thought.

At the end of the day they’re still a bunch of dudes from Boston who know how to rock a house. I’d go see them any day of the week. Go check em out, pick up this album, grab their earlier ones, and plan on having a good time.

‘The Eight Deaths of Delphinium Gardener’ was released independently September 10th, 2013.

Elitists would probably agree that they just don’t make music like they used to, especially in the Progressive Rock arena. Some would say that today’s prog elite is more in to showing off their skill as opposed to using their skill to make good music. Long gone are the days when music possessed the intimacy, the humility, and the raw genuine passion for making music inspired by something else. Fret not; Sigmund Blue is here to fill in the void, no DeLorean required.

Sigmund began as a project between two members but took to full band status with the addition of another member in 1999. Each member recorded their parts separately as the three live in different regions of the United States. Un-phased by such unfortunate circumstances, the trio presented The Eight Deaths of Delphinium Gardener (Eight Deaths) in September of 2013. Eight Deaths is a 1970’s inspired concept album that chronicles the many trials and tribulations encountered by protagonist Delphinium Gardener.

The album opens in spectacular fashion with ‘Overture’, a piano friendly introduction with remarkably familiar melodic trappings. Immediately the goal of the album becomes clear with this “curtains up” instrumental. It is as much of a proclamation of arrival as it is a solid introduction. The melodies that dance throughout the latter stages of the track serve as a perfect lead-in to the track that succeeds it, Charcuterie of Babylon. From then on, Eight Deaths stays the course with a chill-out easy going vibe that serves to put the listener in a state where focusing on the story becomes a natural reflex.

Eight Deaths shakes things up with ‘Can’t Stay’, presenting the first deviation from what the album had previously established as a norm. This is by no means a bad mark on the report card, as the band does well transitioning be a more rock based feel to a song that contains more bounce and pop. After that diversion, the album returns to business as usual until ‘Go Now’. This track is by far the emotional powerhouse of the album. The vocals carry the weight of the songs part in the story with incredible ease and packs enough power to move the listener to tears.

From that point out the journey is much more rocky but the sonic cohesiveness heard earlier in the album remains consistent. The exiting tracks at this point of the album serve as a build up to a climax that sees a rather calm and soothing end melodically. ‘Pod’s Lament’ serves as evidence of this with gusto as there is a stark ramp up in energy. This track sees the band shed the prog rock element for an all out balls to the wall sprint to the finish. It makes the transition to the aptly named album closer ‘Epilogue’ all the more interesting.

The members of SIgmund Blue recorded their parts separately, relying 100% on technology to complete their projects.

The biggest hurdle for this album to overcome, aside from some slightly creepy dialogue in ‘The Meeting’, is the time investment. At 18 tracks and just over an hour and five minutes, there may not be enough meat for the average listener to chew on. Big moments tend to fall flat due to the context of the era that influences the production, but if appreciated properly within said context, it makes for an even bigger set of musical events. Eight Deaths is far out in a good way and all in all, the entire album achieved what it set out to do. Fans of Queen and the Beatles may have something to latch on to here.

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Do you like the feeling of electronic music but don’t like its repetative movements intended for drug fueled dancing? Do you like rock but wish it focused less on being loud and more on soundscapes? Then push play on these bands. You won’t be disappointed.

Žagar This Hungarian Psychedelic/Jazz/Atmospheric/Rock/Awesome band is one to keep an eye on. They always have something going on. Their style is the perfect hybrid of the electronic feel and drive with the beauty of rock and jazz melodies and analog production. The band has a long list of filmography credits and you can really hear it. Wait until the horns come in at around 2 mins. Forget goosebumps. It’s all about the nipple hardening.

Indigo Sun They are my most recent find and my most favorite at the moment. They’re a jazz fusion band disguised behind electronic productions. Definitely worth checking out.

Stateless Such a wonderfully emotional song. Builds up just enough to lock you in. This London based band started out as your generic rock band but they embraced the idea of adding more electronic elements after meeting DJ Kidkanevil at a hip hop show in Leeds. They have two albums out right now on Spotify.

The best part of this Swedish four-piece group, Wintergatan, is that they aren’t electronic at all. There are no samples. Instead they play a range of homemade and unorthodox instruments along with some more conventional ones to create a foreign yet familiarized sound. The lead here is the accordion and oh boy has one never sounded better.
Their popular track Sommarfågel was featured as our Song of the Day back in July.

Jaga Jazzist has been around since the 90’s but have been the forefront of the new age of jazz. These Norwegians take jazz whole heartedly and incorporate every genre and instrument they can come up with. Every song is a new experience. They’re not for everyone but if you enjoy driving beats and head spinning melodies they might be for you.

Incubus okay so they’ve been around for a while and for all intents and purposes, they suck now. Since the line-up changes and their increasingly mainstream standings they haven’t been the same.
If you’re looking for a rocking band that throws in ample amounts of electronic sections they’re a good band to start with. Their earlier work; eg. their first album: Fungus Among Us, is my favorite which resembled the beginning of funk metal but they’ve toned down and tuned out since that work of perfection.

You can check out these bands and some of their other songs on this nifty little playlist I created for all you. I know, I’m awesome, but keep it in your pants you perverts.

What if you went outside and saw these artists… LIVE!? It’s good for you!

More importantly it’s good for the artists.

It’s no longer difficult and tedious either. You no longer have to talk to that annoying hipster at your local coffee shop who knows too much for someone who hates everything. Thanks to the wonders of the internet you can easily track your favorite artists in real time and find out who’s playing your local venues.

You may be surprised what places have live music.

Gigfi is a relatively new website that allows you to search your local area or favorite venues to find upcoming gigs and then creates a Spotify playlist out of them. If that’s not innovation and integration it’s finest, I don’t know what is.

Songkick is another integration tool that brings gig alerts right to your facebook, right when they’re announced. Enter some of your favorite artists and it will alert you when they’re in town or use the stalker feature to find out the shows you weren’t invited that your “friends” are seeing.

Bandsintown is similar to Songkick but also has an app for android and iOS that gives you updates the moment a new concert is announced. It tracks your Spotify, Last.fm, or iTunes accounts for bands you’re listening to so no need to constantly search and update your favorite artists.
This is also a fantastic tool for artists as well who can set up an account to alert all their fans of where they’ll be.

Pollstar is an international music news website with a real time ticker listing average ticket prices of various acts. It can be a little daunting and shove things in your face but it’s perfect for finding ticket deals. Look! They even know who Karl Denson is..

Scout.me is not just a great tool for finding shows but also restaurants, local attractions, hiking trails, sporting events, human sacrifices; basically where all the cool people will be.

So go out this weekend. Bring your imaginary friends and shake your imaginary fannies to some good music. We have to support those that bring us so much enjoyment to our lives when we’re ruling the realm from our pillow forts.

You will find me at the Set Back Inn tomorrow night (Friday 2/28/14) in Tarrytown watching the massively talented Reggae/Dub/Funk/Afrobeat/Jazz/Wutd’hellwuzthat? group, Sixth Degree.

Taking the lead from the original Macklemore and Ryan Lewis production promoting same sex relationships; rapper Raykeea Angel Wilson a.k.a. Angel Haze takes up the mic with grammy winner Macklemore, to add some personalization with a first hand account. Her words hit almost as hard as her flow.

She speaks from the heart revealing the unnecessary pain she endured coming to terms with herself. Focusing on the recoil she received from those she believed were closest to her.

It’s all love in the end and this song shows you should never hide who you are or who you love.

It’s love and it’s selfless
It’s yours and everybody else’s
So don’t badger and abuse the solemnly defenseless
See us as yourself, there’s no equality in difference
Until we all get it, we’ll be drowning in the same blood
Despite orientation, we all feel the same love